NIL Usage

[Left Coast Pirates]

Virginia had good to excellent offense during that run! They played low scoring games because of their pace on both sides of the ball but their offense was highly efficient. The National Championship year their offense was ranked #2 in the Nation. They were Top 50 all 6 years - their KP Offensive ratings were #2, 30, 50, 8, 21 & 27.

They never shot the 3 worse than 35% and for 4 years it was 38.3% - 40.2%.

You need to have balance and the ability to win in multiple ways to get where we want to be on a consistent basis.

I agree with what you are saying about money. Seton Hall hired Sha and they have spent multi-millions on facilities, coaches and players but they have yet to give him even an average budget to acquire players. That is a problem and I strongly believe Seton Hall should give him what he needs this Spring ($9-10M) so he can be on equal footing with AVERAGE BE teams and see what it nets.

But money isn't everything. Sha needs to realize he needs to mature his approach and be willing to change. The best coaches are the ones who can adjust - season to season, game to game, possession to possession. The way to improve the most is on the offensive end.

View attachment 1201084

Sha's Team Shooting% over his 8 years
View attachment 1201111

We are on the same page.

It has to be more balanced.

I believe you can lead with defense if your offense is not incompetent. Hence the Virginia example. And yes their offense was very good also, which is why they were a perennial 1 seed and 30 win team during that stretch. Obviously that isn’t our realistic expectation.

I don’t care for looking at his team’s shooting trends. If you don’t have players that can shoot your percentages aren’t going to be high. That is obvious. And if we don’t pay for players that will not change.

His best offensive Ken Pom team at Seton Hall was the 2023-24 team. 70th I believe without looking it up. It had 3 good offensive players in Richmond, Dawes, and Davis. And to be fair Kadary couldn’t shoot the 3 (27%) and the other guards Dawes (45%) and Wusu (41%) were not good from 2 point range.

That team had a ton of offensive flaws in its players and zero bench to support and he still got it to 70th.

I do believe if Sha has the resources he will have a 40-50 type offense and a top 10 defense. That formula will win you games and get you in the tournament.

 

[Left Coast Pirates]

Budd is not the problem. While he does have some issues the problem is the players he is playing with. It is one thing for him to be undersized but the guys starting at the other 4 positions are also undersized. That is a bad situation for him to be in.

Like I said. I knew I would take crap for that comment. Budd IS NOT the problem. That was not the topic at hand.

However, Budd is not your prototypical PG to be an efficient 3 point oriented shooting type offense.
And I gave examples of his game in which good coaches have scouted already to limit our success.

Again…
1. Then go under our screens because he can’t shoot the 3.

2. Help defenders do not leave the perimeter shooters, because they are ok with him taking a difficult fade away mid range jump shot.

All the posters who are clamoring for modern day analytics / embrace the 3 point shot, also need to acknowledge that this type of shot is currently considered the worst in terms of metrics / efficiency.

 

[The Crows Nest]

Virginia had good to excellent offense during that run! They played low scoring games because of their pace on both sides of the ball but their offense was highly efficient. The National Championship year their offense was ranked #2 in the Nation. They were Top 50 all 6 years - their KP Offensive ratings were #2, 30, 50, 8, 21 & 27.

They never shot the 3 worse than 35% and for 4 years it was 38.3% - 40.2%.

You need to have balance and the ability to win in multiple ways to get where we want to be on a consistent basis.

I agree with what you are saying about money. Seton Hall hired Sha and they have spent multi-millions on facilities, coaches and players but they have yet to give him even an average budget to acquire players. That is a problem and I strongly believe Seton Hall should give him what he needs this Spring ($9-10M) so he can be on equal footing with AVERAGE BE teams and see what it nets.

But money isn't everything. Sha needs to realize he needs to mature his approach and be willing to change. The best coaches are the ones who can adjust - season to season, game to game, possession to possession. The way to improve the most is on the offensive end.

View attachment 1201084

Sha's Team Shooting% over his 8 years
View attachment 1201111

Fish, as usual, you deliver. A rational, complete analysis. I really enjoy reading your posts...thank you.
And "yes", I am firmly in the camp of "Seton Hall, finally step up and let us at least compete at an average level (finances) and see what we can do." To judge Sha on anything else is almost unfair.

I also believe, however, as you post that Sha has culpability as well; he must adjust his thinking, and bring in a more balanced roster.

Combined...I truly believe we can do great things.

Look at Danny...he was also a defense first stalwart...now has one of the most intricate offenses in college BB. Oh, and 2 Nattys to show for it!

 

[Garyshu1971]

Getting one dimensional defensive players is easier and cheaper. Getting guys who can score multiple ways but maybe don’t defend because in high school they were protected from fouling out various ways by their coach are out there but that’s where the coaching comes in. Orr told his players he knew that they could score , that’s why you’re here but now we’re going to teach you to play defense. And they learned and did it in a much much tougher Big East. So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Actually being in four place in the Big East never ever put you out of the tournament or on-the bubble . You walked in as a seven or eight no problem.

 

[hallwins]

Fish, as usual, you deliver. A rational, complete analysis. I really enjoy reading your posts...thank you.
And "yes", I am firmly in the camp of "Seton Hall, finally step up and let us at least compete at an average level (finances) and see what we can do." To judge Sha on anything else is almost unfair.

I also believe, however, as you post that Sha has culpability as well; he must adjust his thinking, and bring in a more balanced roster.

Combined...I truly believe we can do great things.

Look at Danny...he was also a defense first stalwart...now has one of the most intricate offenses in college BB. Oh, and 2 Nattys to show for it!

Sha did adjust his portal approach.
Young, highly rated HS recruits getting a 2nd chance. To this year

Much more experienced players

Now need to go to 8 person strong rotation and prioritize shooting/scoring.

 

[Seton75]

My friends and I waited for an hour after the first NIT game two years ago to even attempt to leave the garage.

Doesnt this topic usually have us also adding d1 fb?

 

[shu09]

What offensive style do we run?

I truly think he doesn't know himself, and that's scary. Never seen a college coach so inept at 50% of the game.

 

[JTSHU]

Well said. This has been my major gripe all season long. From the very first game I noticed Clark turning around, made more obvious when we are on the opposite side of the court from our bench.

It stops the flow of the offense and takes valuable time off the shot clock, Sure on occasion the coach should control the action on the court. But Holloway's total control personality clearly hinders our team and unfortunately I don't think that will ever change.

We do seem to execute drawn up plays out of timeouts. I always say why cant we do that over and over. Budd does take a long time defering to shaheen coming up the court.

 

[JTSHU]

It’s not changing anytime soon. After a recent game (at Butler maybe?) Sha commented he tried to let them run it and he had to take it over.

I don’t get it. He talks about tempo and getting into things quickly - which is def hugely important for a team not taking 3’s - but then we waste so much time standing around with play calling and over dribbling.

What offensive style do we run?

The endless 1 on 1 and over dribbling is infuriating

 

[JTSHU]

You have watched him play for 28 games so far this year.

has any team closed out on his mid range jump shot that consistently opens up shots for the players at the 3 point line?

They do exactly what I said. They go under the pick and roll, dare him to shoot the three, take away the roll pass to the bucket, and then “one” guy in the original pick and roll has the defensive assignment to close out and make him fade away on him mid range jump shot.

Adding shooters doesn’t change that aspect of our offense.

would we make more 3 pointers in general if we have better shooters?….absolutely. But we do not have a PG / C combo that is conducive to play today’s “modern day” basketball focused on the 3 point shot.

It also doesnt help we rarely get it into najai and allow him to work. A few buckets may draw a double or kick outs. Unfortunately our offense is guards dribble drives.

 

[JTSHU]

The Big East is not the MAAC.

I don’t need to see what he did last year. The size of the players that he needs to navigate in the pick and roll this year is no where close to the same level of competition that he produced against while at Merrimack.

Are you telling me we have seen a ton of drive and kick this year?

I must of have missed it.

Putting a better shooter in place of Fisher or Williams doesn’t change the fact that our current offense / players DO NOT lead to a perimeter oriented 3 point shooting attack.

My point is, it’s not just the shooters but the entire system that initiates the offense to get those shooters open.

Youd think our poor shooting would spark more najai touches for more high percentage shots. Not to mention the countless times we give up wide open 3s to just drive into multiple defenders. Why do players feel the need to always try to get right to the rim when a 5, 7, 10 ft jumper is there.

 

[The Crows Nest]

The endless 1 on 1 and over dribbling is infuriating

This was an endless critique of Willard’s offense every year, and he had MUCH better offensive players.

I really want to see what Sha does with some real talent up and down the roster.
Then we can judge.

 

[Left Coast Pirates]

Youd think our poor shooting would spark more najai touches for more high percentage shots. Not to mention the countless times we give up wide open 3s to just drive into multiple defenders. Why do players feel the need to always try to get right to the rim when a 5, 7, 10 ft jumper is there.

Lost art across the sport. Most players can’t make that shot consistently these days. They are also taught it’s a bad shot. Better to shoot the three, or get to the rim for a layup or foul.

 

[Piratz]

It also doesnt help we rarely get it into najai and allow him to work. A few buckets may draw a double or kick outs. Unfortunately our offense is guards dribble drives.

The way defenses play us clog the passing lanes. And we telegraph everything. When you don’t have a threat of outside shooting nor pass well you get this. It’s also why we have a high turnover rate which is killing the strength of the team (defensive turnovers).

We run a bad looking offense it’s that simple.

 

[shu67]

Have you gone to a men's game with the current capacity of about 1300 including students and band members.

It takes forever to get off campus. And you want a greatly incresed capacity? There is no solution to this issue.

I was attending games when Walsh held 3200 or more and it was packed and standing room only. We arrived well before the game kicked off to watch the underclass team play. So I know all about the issues.

There are problems yes but there are solutions to those problems. I could list them here but the bottom line is the school has little interest in elevating the program to be like UConn.

The school seems to be happy with the men and women's hoops being simply competitive and not world class.

This is not what the posters on this forum want. We want a world class hoops program both men and women. I don't ever see us getting there. Changing coaches is not a pursuit that will do it. Adding more money will but it has to be a lot more money than most of the posters on this forum are throwing around. We need to spend more than St John's and UConn to attract and retain the caliber of talent needed to make a big difference. Otherwise, it will be a struggle every year.

Sha is in a tough spot. The expectations put on him by the fans are tremendous, but his hands are tied when it comes to where the games are played, the money he has to spend on talent, and the money he has for his coaching team.

 

[shu67]

Walsh hasn't been our home court in 40 years. The thought of expanding Walsh to a 6,000 + seat capacity died when the University decided to build the new swimming pool and the rec center. Once they built around Walsh, that was the end.

That doesn't even take into account the reality that getting 2,000 vehicles onto and off campus for a game would require major infrastructure changes on and off campus.


It's not your money so how much in the hole should the school go to support the program?

Not my money? I give every year and through the years it adds up to many thousands. No I am not a mega donor but if you have access to my giving records I probably put many on this forum and alums to shame.

So yes, my money over the years has been put to good use by the school which I continue to support very much. Probably used some of it to downsize Walsh too.

 

[JTSHU]

I respectfully disagree. Again how many supposed big time college programs renovated their on campus arena to make it smaller?

Yes we play at the rock and that is not a home court. We play there only because we do not have a home court. We had one but instead of boosting the seating of Walsh to 5-6K we reduced it so it will never be a home court. It is only perfect because we have no alternative to the rock.

If the women had a truly competitive program Walsh would be inadequate too!

Which brings me back to the school admin. They are not forward thinking when it comes to the program, they don't think of making hoops really big time, and the commitment is half hearted. Which explains why Willard is at Villanova and not here. If Sha were to leave we have a fat chance in hell of getting a big name coach to replace him. That tells everyone who loves SHU like I do that the program is lacking more than NIL money.

I have touched on a number of issues but it still boils down to currently thinking small and not big. We are in the "Big" east and the sports programs, all of them should think big. The school admin should think big and put juice into all the sport programs. The banner program is the mens hoops team and I see a history of not doing enough. Only being able to play at the rock is sad.

I cant comment on what goes on inside the athletic dept but i grew up in maplewood. Youd have no idea shu basketball existed unless u went to bunnys.

Lost art across the sport. Most players can’t make that shot consistently these days. They are also taught it’s a bad shot. Better to shoot the three, or get to the rim for a layup or foul.

And we cannot do either

 

[shu67]

The old Rutgers "Barn" from what I saw held 3200. Jersey Mikes holds 8k and they have discussed expanding it to 10K or more. I suspect that they have the ability to do that if they want to.

 

[SHUSource]

You are funny. Same arguments we heard forever. They may be true, but problems always have solutions.

And the solution, in this case, has been to take up primary residence in pro arenas.

 

[SHUSource]

Not my money? I give every year and through the years it adds up to many thousands. No I am not a mega donor but if you have access to my giving records I probably put many on this forum and alums to shame.

So yes, my money over the years has been put to good use by the school which I continue to support very much. Probably used some of it to downsize Walsh too.

I don’t think most people understand the dynamics of fundraising, or at least have little perspective.

I sat through a development overview presentation just last week by someone who leads development at a school that just finished a half-billion dollar campaign. Now, this institution‘s fundraising is an another level altogether from Seton Hall, but it’s not a bigger school than Seton Hall; quite a bit smaller, in fact.

One thing I gleaned from this is that — and I’m certainly paraphrasing — if you eliminated everyone who gives less than $50,000 a year, they would barely feel it in terms of their annual total. Everyone less is considered a nickel and dimer. So we thing we’re swinging our “sticks” around when we give $5,000 (which, to be clear, if far more than my own philanthrop), when in reality, it hardly registers.

You can dial these numbers down to be more reflective of Seton Hall, but the point is the same.

 

[Seton75]

It also doesnt help we rarely get it into najai and allow him to work. A few buckets may draw a double or kick outs. Unfortunately our offense is guards dribble drives.

keep an eye on him when he doesnt gave the ball. He is rarely open and doesnt fight for position hard enough.

 

[shu67]

On offense he spends half of our precious offense time away from the basket setting screens. That seems to be the game plan.

 

[shu67]

Anyway good luck today. We need Hines and Payne to be at the top of their game.

 

[Piratz]

Let’s all hope we get Big Game Sha soon. We need it this week.